Sarah Everard murder: Kate Middleton pays tribute to victim at Clapham Common
The Duchess of Cambridge has paid her respects to murder victim Sarah Everard as police clash with mourners at a banned vigil.
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The Duchess of Cambridge paid her respects at a banned vigil for murder victim Sarah Everard, which was later broken up by heavy handed police in violent scenes.
The Duchess was among mourners laying flowers at a makeshift memorial in Clapham, south west London, grieving for Ms Everard.
The 33-year-old marketing executive was walking home when she was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by off-duty cop Wayne Couzens, 48, this month.
Ms Everard’s body, which had to be identified through dental records, was later found in a builder’s bag.
Police had won a High Court challenge to prevent campaign group Reclaim These Streets holding more than 30 memorials for Ms Everard around Britain.
They argued they would breach coronavirus restrictions.
But hundreds still turned up to the London event on Saturday night local time which then turned violent.
In ugly scenes, police hauled off women in handcuffs as mourners shouted “shame on you” and “you were supposed to protect us”.
One woman was screaming in pain as she was pinned down and handcuffed by at least two officers, with several arrests made.
Video footage of the chaos has been viewed more than 5.3m times on Twitter.
Britain’s home secretary Priti Patel has now demanded a “full report”, labelling the scenes as “upsetting”.
The decision to forcibly break up a memorial that a senior member of the royal family had attended was likely to come under heavy scrutiny.
The police were already facing questions about how the force investigated an claim of indecent exposure allegedly involving Couzens at a fast food takeaway in London four days before Ms Everard disappeared.
The Duchess attended the memorial in a private capacity, mingling with other mourners as she laid flowers from her garden at Kensington Palace.
She attended during the day, a few hours before the police arrested mourners, to show solidarity with other women.
A royal source said that the wife of Prince William remembered what it was like to walk home alone in London before she was married.
A fundraising campaign has collected almost $1 million for women’s charities
The murder has stunned London because of its random nature, with the response echoing the reaction to the death of Jill Meagher in Melbourne in 2012.
More than 30,000 marched the streets of Brunswick demanding justice for the Irish woman.
She was raped and murdered by Adrian Bayley who was later sentenced to 35 years’ jail.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the police actions in Clapham were “unacceptable.”
“The police have a responsibility to enforce COVID laws but from images I’ve seen it’s clear the response was at times neither appropriate nor proportionate,” he said.
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson had also been moved by Ms Everard’s death and said he would light a candle for her with his fiancee Carrie Symonds.
He said he was thinking of Ms Everard’s family and friends.
“I cannot imagine how unbearable their pain and grief is. We must work fast to find all the answers to this horrifying crime,” he said.
“I will do everything I can to make sure the streets are safe and ensure women and girls do not face harassment or abuse.”
POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH MURDER
Sarah Everard had to be identified by dental records after her body was found in a builder’s bag, a court heard.
British cop Wayne Couzens, 48, is accused of kidnapping and murdering the 33-year-old after she vanished in Clapham, south-west London, on March 3.
The armed cop, who joined the Met Police in 2018, appeared in the dock in person at Westminster Magistrates’ Court Saturday morning local time.
Flanked by two police officers, Couzens sat with his head in his hands while wearing a grey jumper. He appeared to have a red wound on the top of his forehead.
According to The Sun, the court was told her body was discovered in a builder’s bag and had to be identified through her dental records.
A post-mortem examination has been carried out but the result was not given in court.
Prosecutor Zoe Martin said on the night she vanished, Everard had left her friend’s home at around 9pm and called her boyfriend as she walked home.
She was on the call for around 14 minutes but the court heard there has been no further activity on her mobile phone since then.
It has also not been recovered yet, it was said.
The court heard Everard was seen alone on CCTV at 9.15pm, again at 9.28pm and was later captured on the camera of a marked police car at 9.32pm.
Her boyfriend reported her missing on March 4, the prosecutor said.
Couzens is accused of kidnapping the woman in the Poynders Road area of Clapham.
The cop, who spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address, was remanded in custody to next appear at the Old Bailey on March 16.
Couzens was charged with Everard’s kidnap and murder after she vanished while walking home last Wednesday.
The announcement came moments before it emerged Couzens was taken to hospital again for a second time with head injuries.
He went back to St George’s Hospital, where he was taken for the first time for treatment, in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Police also revealed Couzens joined the Met in September 2018 where he worked on a response team in Bromley, South East London.
He then moved to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command on 1 February 2020 where he patrolled embassies in the capital.
A huge search was launched after Everard disappeared with police searching ponds in the area.
On Wednesday night, police said human remains were discovered in woodland in Ashford, Kent, that have since been confirmed as Sarah’s.
COP CHARGED OVER HORROR UK MURDER
UK policeman Wayne Couzens has been charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, in a case that has shocked the world.
The Sun reports, Couzens, 48, will appear in custody at Westminster magistrates’ court on Saturday night (AEDT).
In a departure from normal protocol, the Crown Prosecution Service announced the charges instead of police.
“Following a referral of evidence by the Metropolitan Police related to the death of Sarah Everard, the CPS has authorised the police to charge Wayne Couzens with murder and kidnapping,” Rosemary Ainslie, head of special crime at the CPS, said.
The latest developments come as Couzens was taken to hospital for a second time with head injuries.
An armed cop Couzens, part of the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection branch, is alleged to have abducted 33-year-old marketing executive last Wednesday.
BODY OF MISSING WOMAN IDENTIFIED
British police said on Friday local time that a body discovered in the woods is that of Sarah Everard, the missing woman at the centre of a high-profile case that has stoked national anger in the UK.
The marketing executive vanished while walking home from a friend’s flat in south London on the evening of March 3.
The case has sent shockwaves through the London force — and the wider public — and triggered a debate about women’s safety after dark.
The latest development came as detectives said they had been given more time to a question a serving member of the Metropolitan Police’s elite diplomatic protection unit in connection with the case.
“The body has now been recovered and a formal identity procedure has taken place. I can now confirm that it is the body of Sarah Everard,” Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Nick Ephgrave told reporters.
Ephgrave said hundreds of officers were “working around the clock to establish the full circumstances of Sarah’s disappearance and her murder.
“A man remains in custody at a London police station on suspicion of committing those crimes,” he added.
The independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), a watchdog dealing with policing complaints, is probing the police over its handling of the case.
That includes probing how the suspect ended up requiring treatment in hospital on Thursday for a head injury, which police have said he sustained while in custody alone in a cell.
The suspect, whose identity has not been released by officials but has been widely named in the media, was originally detained in Kent, southeast England, late Tuesday on suspicion of kidnapping.
He was arrested for murder the following day and is also being questioned on a separate allegation of indecent exposure.
OFFICER ARRESTED ON SUSPICION
Earlier Couzens, was arrested on suspicion of the kidnapping and murder of Ms Everard.
The father of two was also accused of indecent exposure. He worked as a diplomatic protection officer at Westminster and was involved in securing events attended by the Royal Family.
London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said the arrest of a police officer had sent “shockwaves and anger through the public and through the Met.”
“I speak on behalf of all my colleagues when I say that we are utterly appalled at this dreadful, dreadful news,” she said.
“Our job is to patrol the streets and to protect people.”
Ms Everard had been walking home from a friend’s house at 9pm on Wednesday last week.
The marketing executive had been speaking on the phone to her boyfriend, Josh Lowth, 33, for 15 minutes.
But concerns were raised when she did not arrive at her Brixton home.
Police divers searched ponds in Clapham Common and officers also searched secluded woods near Couzens’ home in Kent, south east England.
And 150 police have been searching an abandoned minigolf and paintballing centre in Ashford, Kent, about 100km south east of London.
A woman, believed to be Couzens’ partner, was also arrested on suspicion of helping him conceal a crime.
Police impounded Couzens’ black Suzuki and had set up a forensic evidence tent at his home.
His locker at the Palace of Westminster, the British parliament that includes Big Ben, was also searched.
The murder has shocked Britain, with a former workmate of Couzens’ telling The Sun: “It is truly shocking that he has been arrested over Sarah’s disappearance.”
Couzens was a late entry into the police service, only starting his career about 10 years ago.
Questions are now being asked about the screening process used during his recruitment.
There have been a series of reports of assaults on women in Clapham Common in recent months but police have said there was no evidence to link them to Couzens.
A neighbour in the road where Couzens was arrested said a police officer lives at the address with his “chatty” wife and two children.
“They just seemed like a normal, regular family, there was nothing strange about them at all,” she said.
Matt Mullan, 29, who also lives nearby, said: “Last night there were police cars outside all night.
“I thought this is a bit strange, not normal for round here.
“It was about 8-9pm there was heavy traffic out there and there have been police cars outside all morning.
“It’s very surprising, definitely not what you expect to see.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman had said his thoughts were with Ms Everard and her friends and family.
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